Patience
by Tsuki the Wolf
Summary: Sans has known about Frisk for as long as he could remember. Frisk wasn't someone that Sans had met before, but still Sans had known them. (Future AU Prequel. Minor Sans/Frisk)


Sans has known about Frisk for as long as he could remember. The knowledge of the human extended back into his childhood, almost from the moment he could talk. Or, at least, that's what his father told him. Frisk wasn't someone that Sans had met before, but still Sans had known them. They filled his dreams most nights. And whenever he wasn't dreaming of Frisk, sometimes some of the other people in his dreams would mention them. In his dreams, he was always fairly aware of where the human was. The dreams felt almost too real –more like memories rather than dreams− and it fascinated Sans even when he had been a child. The only thing was, Sans was certain that the dreams couldn't be memories because, well . . .

In Sans's dreams he was always a monster. Monsters weren't uncommon on this planet, the next, or even the next galaxy over, so Sans wasn't surprised to see his dreams featuring plenty of monsters (almost . . . too much? Sans didn't dream of a lot of humans, he realized in retrospect). However, Sans himself was a human. Why, then, would he view himself as a monster in his dreams? There was never a moment within his dreams where he was not a monster. Unless they were dreams that were "normal" dreams. Dreams that he assumed every other person had every night rather than these strange memory-dreams.

Interestingly enough, Sans had never been bothered by his monster form despite the fact that he was a skeleton. To most children picturing themselves with their skin and meat pulled back would be horrifying, but Sans found it normal. He was more startled to wake up and find himself human than he was to fall asleep and dream of being a monster. He could recall vividly pressing a hand to his chest and being momentarily scared of the strange thu-thump he felt there before he understood that the feeling was his heart pounding. It could be unnerving sometimes.

When he had been younger, Sans's mom and dad assumed that Frisk was his imaginary friend even though Sans didn't treat Frisk as an imaginary friend. He didn't run around talking with someone who wasn't there, but rather he would recount his "adventures" with Frisk from his dreams to his parents. According to them he had barely been talking before he was able to babble about Frisk. His quick grasp of certain words startled his parents. He learned to talk in an older language faster than he learned to speak his native language.

When he became a bit older, Sans learned to draw crude and childish pictures of his dreams, although his pictures never did the adventures justice. His mother taught him how to keep a dream journal so that he could practice writing. Most of the first book was filled with barely-understandable words and drawings, but soon enough he began to actually start to write sentences. He could read them to his parents with ease, not realizing that his parents didn't understand a single word written because it was such an ancient language. His father had been sent into a tizzy about it.

Sans, meanwhile, taught himself to fall asleep and nap often so that he could dream up more stories.

The day Papyrus entered the household, Sans had recognized him by his smile. I know him, his three-year-old self thought, because only Papyrus from his dreams had that bright of a smile. Sans fell in love instantly. He had switched from babbling about his stories to his parents to instead telling Papyrus all about the things they had done in his dreams. Papyrus cooed loudest whenever Sans brought up all about how wonderful his brother was.

As soon as Sans had a better grasp on his own language skills, he started to tell Papyrus more proper bedtime stories. His mother had asked him at one point where the "Happy Bunny" story had come from, and Sans had told her it was Papyrus's favorite book. They never owned a book like that. As Papyrus grew older, he began to understand his elder brother's stories more. Sans had been seven and Papyrus four when Papyrus had brought up an idea.

"SANS!" Papyrus shouted because he was just naturally loud. Sans still startled at his yelling sometimes. Papyrus threw himself at Sans's back and scrambled to hang over his shoulder. "I HAVE AN IDEA!"

"what's that, papyrus?" Sans asked, humoring his brother while still trying to focus on putting together the tiny build-a-robot toy.

"YOUR STORIES ARE REAL!" Papyrus yelled next to Sans's ear while his little feet kicked back and forth excitedly against his brother's back.

Sans winced. "how so?"

"THE TELLY SAID SO!"

"you callin' me a monster?" Sans teased as he tugged on one of Papyrus's little toes.

"You _are_ monstrous." Their mother joked as she entered the room with their father. She reached over to adjust the man's speaker collar so that his sons could understand him if he spoke. Although he used his hands to sign as well to give the boys practice, he needed the speaker until they understood him fully. Sans hadn't yet mentioned that he could already fully understand everything his father said with his hands even though Sans couldn't yet reply the same yet. His father's hand movements were the same things that Frisk did in his dreams.

"What is all the yelling about?" Dr. Gaster asked his children.

"pappy says my dreams are real." Sans explained.

"THEY ARE!" Papyrus insisted. "THE TELLY SAID SOOOO!" Their mother snatched Papyrus from his brother and held his squirming form upside down with a bright grin on her face. The boy squealed with delight and kicked harder, nearly sending a foot straight into his mother's jaw. Sans loved how cheerful his brother was all of the time.

"Oh that." Their mother said and shot their father a small smile. "We were watching a monster documentary on reincarnation."

Sans wasn't sure what those two big words ere. "what's that?" He asked.

"There is an idea in cultures that when people die, their souls are reborn into another body. Apparently this is the most popular speculation for life after death that monsters believe in. Along with the practice of spreading a monster's dust on their beloved things, they believe that their souls will eventually refuse into a new soul and be born again. Although," his father considered, "I don't think that they remember−"

"WHICH MEANS YOU WERE REBORN!" Papyrus finished, cutting off his dad and finally escaping from his mother's grasp. He dropped to the ground and jumped around Sans. His honey brown eyes sparkled with delight.

"It is just a theory, Papyrus." His dad corrected.

"Although . . ." Their mom added thoughtfully, "it would explain a lot." She shared a significant look with her husband.

Sans wasn't so sure. The concept was interesting, though. If what his father was explaining was true, it did make sense if he was a monster who had died and been reborn again as a human. However what did that mean about the things he remembered? He wasn't sure how to handle the idea. He was too young to think hard on it, so instead he finally said, ". . . who knows?"

The thought of reincarnation didn't leave his mind. Was it possible that he –and possibly his brother– were reborn again as humans? Where did that leave Frisk then? Were they really a human that he knew in the long ago past? He had lived in Ebott back then, but Sans didn't know where Ebott was. He didn't recognize the planet he lived on in his dreams. The idea bothered him. He wanted to know for sure.

"Well," His dad suggested while they were in the lab a number of months later, "why don't we do research then?"

"how?" Sans asked as he pushed another chair over and scrambled up onto it. One day, he told himself, he would be as tall as his dad and he wouldn't deal with all this short stuff! "i don't know where ebott is." He also didn't have any information on Frisk besides some personal things. He could describe in detail what Frisk looked like and how they liked to sleep in his bed. He knew that they loved Nice Cream best and that they didn't like to talk very much. He also knew that they liked having their hair played with. But none of that would help them find another Frisk in the timeline. It was probably a good thing that the name "Frisk" was an odd one. That may help narrow it down.

"You said that you, as a monster, had lived in the Underground, correct?" His dad typed on his computer. His fingers swiped at the holograms as he searched. Sans wasn't able to read much of what was in front of him.

"yeah." He confirmed. He wasn't sure what the Underground was, but he knew for a fact that was where he used to live.

Gaster nodded in understanding. "Monsters, a long long time ago, were trapped in a place called the Underground back on Earth, where humans originated. We do not know how or why, however. History books do not have the information. Most likely it was lost with time. However from the timeline approximation that you have given me, monsters no longer lived in the Underground."

"trapped?" Sans asked, frowning.

"You will learn more about it in history when you are older, but I recall learning that the monsters were released by a human child. This child later became the ambassador between monsters and humans and was integral for integrating monsters into the human world." Sans couldn't imagine a life without monsters around. He didn't understand why monsters would be trapped in the Underground. It niggled at him. He felt like he should know. Maybe he would dream of it one day? Gaster smiled at his son with a small smile. "The human child was not much older than you." Sans's eyes widened at the information. He didn't know what an ambassador was, but it sounded really important. Not only was it awesome that a child saved the monsters, but the information resonated in him. He felt like he knew it already, but he couldn't recall from where.

"cool." He breathed.

"Oh! Here we go!" His dad's eyes skimmed the page before he froze. He reread the paragraph multiple times. Sans leaned forward in an effort to possibly understand what he was reading, but the words were mostly foreign to him. He did recognize a few of the more ancient words, though. Before he could process what little he could read, however, his father called his name slowly. His artificial voice had taken on a strange tone. "Do you know Frisk's last name?"

Sans thought back. He didn't recall ever hearing Frisk's last name (they were just _Frisk_ ) but he knew that they had lived with two monsters named Toriel and Asgore. Sans had been good friends with Toriel. She had loved his jokes just like Sans's mom did. He was sure they would've gotten along well. He told his dad this.

His father tore his eyes away from what he was reading to stare pale-faced at Sans. "Son, are you sure you have not learned anything in history class about monsters?" Sans didn't get the chance to respond before his dad continued almost to himself, "No, what am I saying? You have always dreamt and talked of this 'Frisk' . . ."

"dad?" He called, concerned by his father's strange behavior. In response his father moved the holoscreen so that Sans could see the image on it. He made the picture bigger and Sans gaped at the sight of an ancient photo graph taken at what looked to be a meeting. The quality was poor compared to some of the stuff that they had now and the picture didn't move at all, but Sans didn't need all of those fancy things to recognize the face on it. He pointed at the human talking at the podium. They appeared to be in their later teenager years. "frisk!" He gasped. Then the implications dawned on him and he sat back heavily in his chair. "i'm really . . . reincarcerated."

"Reincarnated." Gaster corrected idly, apparently in shock himself. He excused himself soon after to go call his wife soon after. Sans couldn't stop staring at the picture of Frisk.

After the discovery, Sans did as much research as he could about Frisk. He couldn't read well, but he had always been a quick study and grew up reading historical texts about Earth back when monsters became part of the general populous. He didn't find a lot of information on himself, but he did find snippets of "Frisk's Monster Friends" and saw a few pictures of Frisk with monsters that Sans had dreamt about his entire life. He had been quick to show his family a picture he discovered with both him and Papyrus in it. His parents had been fascinated, if a little shocked at the sight of their children being skeletons.

Papyrus wasn't a great help considering how young he was, but he was enthusiastic to learn what he could about their past lives. Papyrus never had dreams like Sans, but he found the thought of them being skeletons to be cool. He attempted to draw them a lot. Sans was just glad to have his brother with him. He knew that he had adored his brother in his past life, so it was good to be together again in this one.

As Sans grew older, the questions about Frisk just became more fervent. Had Frisk been reincarnated as well? Were they somewhere nearby? Were they on the same planet? The same galaxy? Were they close to his age? He had no way of being able to find them, though. Sans and Papyrus had been lucky to have the same names, but it may not be the same with any of the other people reborn. Could humans even be reincarnated? Or was it just for monsters? There were beliefs, according to Sans's research, that humans could be reborn just as much as monsters, but it was all supposition. Sans, as far as he knew, was one of the few to actually know he was reincarnated.

Even if Frisk was reincarnated, would they remember him? Papyrus had no memories of their past lives. Perhaps Sans was alone with his memories. It made him feel a little lonely. He missed Frisk. He would wake up expecting to see them there, but they never were. It felt wrong not knowing where his friend was.

"Were you two really close friends?" His mom asked one day as Sans curled up on the couch in preparation for a nap. She was petting his white hair gently. Sans was happy to have his mother home again.

"yeah." He agreed, his eyes drooping. "but i love them too."

His mom's fingers froze for a moment in his hair before slowly continuing. "I see." Sans didn't hear any more of what she would've said as his mind faded into oblivion.

For a number of months after Sans discovered he was reborn and that he was the only one with his memories, he had felt a little sad knowing that nobody else would remember the good times he remembered. Papyrus would never know the feeling of using magic or travelling through portals. He wouldn't remember some of the sights from more ancient times that Sans could remember. Earth had been beautiful. Sometimes Sans cracked inside jokes between him and Papyrus, but his brother had no idea what he was referring to. It was a hollow feeling.

Sans was ten when Papyrus was in first grade. It was the year that some of Sans's questions were answered. Papyrus had not hesitated to find his brother Sans during lunch time even though he was supposed to be at recess at the moment. As soon as he saw his older brother, he began to talk rapidly to him, stumbling over his own words in his impatience and urgency.

Sans just grinned lazily to see Papyrus hopping up and down next to him. "chill, papyrus. sup?"

"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT IS 'SUP'! I FOUND FRISK!"

Sans froze, his thoughts stuttering to a stop before the cogs in his head began to pick up pace and bring new ideas to his head. ". . . what d'ya mean?"

Papyrus couldn't seem to hold still. His smile was the brightest thing in the room as he continued to bounce in place. "IN MY CLASS! THERE'S A PERSON NAMED FRISK!" Papyrus grabbed and tugged on Sans's hand, ignoring the glares from Sans's nearby classmates at his brother's shouting. He was attracting teachers' attentions. "I'LL SHOW YOU!" Sans was hauled out of his seat and yanked along outside while he was still trying to process this. It was just a coincidence, probably, but his heart was pounding thickly in his chest. Papyrus wouldn't pull a trick like that with him.

Papyrus tugged him towards the playground and looked around quickly before he pointed out a child. Sans couldn't tell from behind if it was really Frisk, but they had brown hair. That was something, at least, but that didn't mean much. They seemed to be hovering on the edge of the playground instead of joining in with any of the fun. Sans's heart was in his throat. He felt unprepared for this. Still, though, he wanted to make an attempt.

He glanced once at his brother and made a shooshing motion before he padded over to the human. He cleared his throat and allowed a memory to take hold, deepening his voice as he said, "hey kid." He saw the human tense a bit. Sans admitted he sounded slightly scary. "don't you know how to greet an old friend? turn around and give me a hug."

The kid didn't hesitate to turn around. The moment their brown eyes met Sans's, Sans knew that this was Frisk. They were younger and their cheeks and nose were covered with freckles, but he knew Frisk anywhere. He had seen that face in his dreams all of his life. He couldn't help the grin that split across his face. He almost called their name when Papyrus interrupted as he pointed at the other human excitedly.

"SEE?" He shouted. "THAT'S FRISK! THE ONE YOU'VE BEEN DREAMING 'BOUT, RIGHT?"

Sans couldn't help his chuckle, unable to really tear his eyes from Frisk's face. "yeah. sure looks like it." He opened his arms with a shrug as an offering for Frisk to take if they wanted. "whadd'ya say, kiddo? hug for old times' sake?"

Frisk seemed momentarily confused, but there was recognition in their face and trust there. Sans wasn't sure if it had even occurred to them to not trust him. They threw themselves into his arms, hugging him tightly as they buried their face into his chest. "Sans!" They whispered. Sans's body tingled to hear his name from Frisk in real life. He laughed again as he held them close.

"heya, frisk." He murmured as Papyrus joined in the hug, wrapping both of them up as much as he could. Relief spread through Sans's chest. He'd found them.

When they all pulled away from each other, Papyrus quickly moved to introduce them. "FRISK! THIS IS MY BROTHER SANS! HE PROBABLY LOOKS A LOT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU REMEMBER! I DO TOO, RIGHT? NYEH-HEH-HEH!"

Frisk frowned a little at that, their head ticking to the side. Sans's mouth quirked a bit more at that familiar tick. It seemed that they still did that in this life as well when they were confused. ". . . Remember?" They asked. Sans blinked.

"YEAH! YOU KNOW, OUR PAST−"

"pap." Sans interrupted. Papyrus shot him a look, confused at the interruption. Sans signed quickly to Papyrus the possibility that Frisk didn't know what they were talking about. He then shook his head. Papyrus looked like he was about to protest, but then decided against it. Sans turned back to Frisk, who had watched the exchange with a furrow in their brow, and grinned crookedly. "hey kid, you have lunch yet?"

From there their friendship started anew. Sans and Papyrus were reunited with the Dreemurrs. Sans had been surprised to see Toriel and Asgore as humans and significantly older than him (but wait, weren't they much older than him as monsters as well?). Frisk, this time, was not an only child. They had an older brother named Asriel and a twin sibling named Chara. Sans recalled an Asriel, he thought, but he couldn't recall Chara properly. He got a bad feeling just thinking of their name. It set him off on the wrong foot with the siblings. It didn't help that Chara was particularly overprotective of their younger sibling. Apparently Frisk suddenly being attached to someone they had just met was suspicious to Frisk's siblings, and so Chara had taken it upon themselves to be a nuisance. Luckily Asriel was good at smoothing things over. He was a little younger than Sans and gravitated more towards Papyrus for friendship, but Sans decided he rather liked all of the Dreemurrs (even if Chara set him on edge and annoyed him).

Both of the twins were rather quiet, but Chara was more prone to speaking than Frisk. They talked a bit more formally than the rest of the family. Chara and Frisk looked almost exactly alike, which made it difficult for the Skelton family at first. Chara hated when Sans mistook them for Frisk, but Frisk never minded all that much. The only time they truly minded when they were mixed up with Chara was when Chara caused trouble and Frisk was pinned with it. Around school Frisk had quickly become known as the "problem child".

"We know it is Chara." Toriel had sighed when Sans had mentioned it. "But the people at school do not understand." Sans wished that he could help Frisk out, but unfortunately he was also known as a problem child. He and Chara became somewhat partners in crime in that sense. Chara was a little more willing to cause a bit more damage, but Sans was able to pull them back from it. Most of the time.

Frisk didn't remember Sans in the same way Sans remembered Frisk. There was a bond there, and Frisk knew and sensed it, but they didn't know why. They had immediately trusted Sans and Papyrus without hesitation and had quickly become friends with them again. The young human never seemed to question how they instinctively knew Sans, and Sans could never manage to wiggle it out of them.

It was agreed in the Skelton family not to mention the reincarnation of all of them to the Dreemurr's. There was no point in complicating things. The past was the past. Papyrus was just happy to have friends, and Sans was just glad to see his friends happy. Although a small part of Sans was saddened and disappointed. He wasn't quite sure why, but he had been almost certain that Frisk of all people, if reborn, would remember their past together. It was almost painfully one-sided. But Frisk did show some signs that some part of their Soul remembered a past life. They acted much the same as they did in their first life (except they were more outgoing, Sans noted). Frisk would also remember some of Sans's particular pet peeves and foods that he had liked without Sans ever telling them. He never mentioned it to them.

Part of him wanted to confess to Frisk about their shared past and about his memories . . . but something stopped him. There was an underlining sorrow to his memories that made him nervous. He didn't know what it was, but he was positive that he didn't want to find out. Most of his dreams had been pleasant or even sometimes boring. Nothing sad or scary had occurred in them (besides the destructive antics of some of his monster friends) and Sans would rather keep it that way. If the feeling persisted even through the happy memories, then it probably wasn't good. He would rather stay ignorant. Maybe it was his own death? Or someone close to him?

He was way too young to be thinking of these things.

So he never told Frisk. And any signs that Frisk displayed of possibly remembering something (and there had been moments where they seemed to be almost remembering something), Sans made sure to distract them. He didn't want to risk Frisk remembering something terrible. He would rather them have no memories of their past lives than to have them have bad memories. It wasn't something he was willing to chance. Even if that meant that Frisk wouldn't remember everything that had made Sans fall in love with them. He could wait, he decided. He would let them come to him in their own time, if they wished.

Sans could be patient. And he was happy. Of one thing he was certain, and it was that he had finally achieved some kind of happy ending he felt like he had been waiting for for a long time.


End file.
